ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy intercollegiate sailing team had a busy weekend competing in three major events, as the Midshipmen hosted the first round of the Women's Atlantic Coast Championship while also sending sailors to the Carl Van Duyne MAISA Men's Singlehanded Championship in Kings Point, N.Y., and the Danmark Trophy in New London, Conn.
 
The Atlantic Coast Championship series occurs in October for both women's and open fleet racing, as 36 teams from around the country compete in each discipline and each series consists of two rounds, with the first round featuring two evenly-seeded regattas. The top nine teams from each event advance to the championship finals while the remaining teams compete in the Atlantic Coast Tournament.
 
Navy was one of the hosts to round one of the women's championship this past weekend and a last-minute drop led to a 17-team field. Shifty winds made for challenging racing, but Navy was able to sail well at home and comfortably finished fifth overall to advance to the Women's ACC Finals on Oct. 14-15 in New Haven, Conn. Junior Evie Blauvelt and senior Madeline Smith had a great regatta en route to winning the "A" division, while seniors Aubin Hattendorf and Catherine Aitken and sophomores Ava Farley and Ella Niehoff teamed up to finish ninth in the "B" division.
 
In another championship setting, the MAISA Men's Singlehanded Championship for the Carl Van Duyne Trophy was held at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. The top-18 sailors had advanced through the first round earlier this fall and Navy had a pair of sailors competing. Both Navy sailors had their ups and downs but secured solid finishes, with Trent Shaw ending up fifth and Teddy Martin taking sixth. Shaw and Martin, along with Navy's women's singlehanded and match race sailors, will now wait until Oct. 17 to find out if they are selected for berths in the ICSA Championships.  
 
Lastly, the first open-fleet interconference regatta of the season, the Danmark Trophy, was held at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. A tough nation-wide field of 20 teams, combined with strong current and shifty winds, made the regatta very challenging and consistency hard to come by. Navy ended the event in ninth place, with sophomore Nathan Smith, senior Julia Christie and junior Ryan Wahba coming in 12th in the "A" division while sophomores Jack Welburn and Ellie Alex took sixth in the "B" division.
 
Navy continues its fall season on Oct. 7-8 when it sends sailors to three events: the first round of the open-fleet Atlantic Coast Championship in Boston, Mass.; the Oyster Bowl in St. Mary's City, Md.; and the Webb/Wollum Regatta in Hampton, Va.